The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, or the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo from its

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

name Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo, is a 135-acre (54.6-ha) complex of buildings in a garden setting in the city of Castel Gandolfo,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, including the principal 17th-century villa, an observatory and a farmhouse with 75 acres (30.4 ha) of farmland. The main structure, the Papal Palace, has been a museum since October 2016. It served for centuries as a summer residence and vacation retreat for the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, the leader of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and is afforded extraterritorial status as one of the

properties of the Holy See The properties of the Holy See are regulated by the 1929 Lateran Treaty signed with the Kingdom of Italy. Although part of Italian territory, some of them enjoy extraterritoriality similar to those of foreign embassies.see Article 13, 14, 15 and 1 ...

. It overlooks

Lake Albano Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pal ...

History

Pontifical palace and Vatican Observatory, Castel Gandolfo

The Vatican acquired the castle in 1596, in payment of a debt owed by the Savelli family. It dated from the 13th century. The gardens occupy the site of a residence of the Roman Emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

. The palace was designed by

Swiss-Italian The Swiss people (german: die Schweizer, french: les Suisses, it, gli Svizzeri, rm, ils Svizzers) are the citizens of Switzerland or people of Swiss ancestry. The number of Swiss nationals has grown from 1.7 million in 1815 to 8.7 million ...

architect

Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno (Maderna) (1556 – 30 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Vall ...

for Pope Urban VIII. Since then, about half of his successors have used the properties as a summer residence and vacation retreat, except for the years between 1870 and 1929 when the popes, in dispute with Italy over territorial claims, did not leave Vatican City. Pope Pius XI had the facilities modernized and began using the retreat again in 1934. In accordance with the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

of 1929, the palace and the adjoining Villa Barberini added to the complex by Pope Pius XI are

extraterritorial In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cl ...

properties of the Holy See. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, an unknown number of Jewish refugees took shelter at the palace under the protection of the Holy See and many people used the site as a refuge from Allied bombing raids in 1944, though more than 500 people died in one such attack. Pope Pius XII died at the palace in 1958, as did

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

in 1978.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

had a swimming pool built at the palace, which was criticized by some. Paparazzi used the opportunity to take photos of him.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

flew to the palace at the conclusion of his papacy on 28 February 2013, was joined by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

for lunch on 23 March, and returned to Vatican City on 2 May. Francis visited the property twice more, but has never stayed overnight. In June 2013, Francis announced he would not spend the summer in Castel Gandolfo as many of his predecessors had, but would lead the Angelus there on 14 July. In retirement, Benedict used it at Francis' invitation for a two-week vacation in 2015. On 7 December 2013, Pope Francis named Osvaldo Gianoli as the Director of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo. In March 2014, the Vatican opened the Barberini Gardens to paid visitors on escorted tours during morning hours every day but Sunday. Beginning 11 September 2015, the public was able to travel from Vatican City to Castel Gandolfo by a train that had previously been reserved for use by the pope. Before the end of the year, products from the farm, previously only available to Vatican employees, were made available for purchase by the public. On 21 October 2016, the palace was opened to the public for viewing without undergoing any structural changes. When asked if the building would again become a papal apartment, Castel Gandolfo mayor Milvia Monachesi said: "the fact that the palace is now a museum will make a reversal in the future difficult".

Legal status

Pursuant to the

of 1929, the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo is Italian territory, but owned by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and equipped with

extraterritoriality In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cl ...

comparable to that of

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

s. It is exempt from Italian taxes and expropriations, and Italian authorities are prohibited from entering it without the consent of the Holy See.Lateran Treaty, Article 15 and annex II.

References

;Additional sources * Petrillo, Saverio (1995). ''I papi a Castel Gandolfo''.

Velletri Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring comm ...

: Edizioni Tra 8 & 9. . * Graziano, Nisio (2008). ''Dalla leggendaria Alba Longa a Castel Gandolfo'', Castel Gandolfo: Il Vecchio Focolare.

External links

* * , slide show {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Castel Gandolfo Episcopal palaces Houses completed in the 17th century Museums established in 2016 Official residences in Italy Properties of the Holy See Palaces in Lazio

History

Legal status

See also

References

External links